High-frequency measuring apparatus



Patented Jan. Al, 1952 HIGH-FREQUEN CY MEASURING APPARATUS William W. Hansen and Theodore Moreno, Garden City, N. Y., assignors to The Sperry Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application September 17, 1943, Serial No. 502,734

3 Claims.

lThe present invention pertains to the art including devices adaptedfor use with ultra high frequency energy and, more particularly, relates to such devices responsive to the direction of energy flow, such as are useful for measuring and/or indicating thepower liow or standing wave ratio in an ultra high frequency energy conductor.

In prio:- copending application Serial No. 499,072, for High Frequency Measuring Apparatus, filed August 18, 1943, in the name of William W. Hansen, now abandoned, there is shown one form of ultra high frequency energy device using a direction-responsive apparatus and adapted to measure separately the power iiowing in an ultra high frequency conductor to, or reflected from, a load device. In this prior application is also shown apparatus for indicating directly the standing wave ratio in an ultra high frequency energy conductor. Such measuring devices have the great advantage that their indication is independent of their position along the energy conductors, and is not affected by standing waves therein, permitting direct and continuous monitoring, in contrast to prior art devices, whose indications may differ greatly according to the location along the conductor, because of standing waves.

The present invention comprises improvements in ultra high frequency apparatus of the type disclosed in this prior copending application. More specifically, the present invention contemplates adapting the invention in the prior application to ultra high frequency energy conductors of the wave guide type, and is further directed toward providing decreased frequency sensitivity for such devices, while retaining all the advantages thereof.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved apparatus responsive to the direction of energy flow along an ultra high frequency conductor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved apparatus for measuring or monitoring the ultra high frequency power flow to a utilization device or the power reflected from such a device.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved ultra high frequency apparatus for measuring or monitoring the power flow in the wavc guide or other high frequency energy conductors, travelling in a predetermined direction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide improved apparatus for directly indi- 2A eating and monitoring the standing wave ratio and power transmission efllciency of an ultra high frequency energy conductor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved apparatus of the above type and of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned copending application. and having decreased frequency sensitivity. f

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and drawings, wherein v Fig. 1 shows a schematic longitudinal crosssectional view of one form of the present invention.

Fig. 1A shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device of Fig. 1 taken along line IA--IA thereof.

Fig. 2 shows a similar schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a modified form of the present invention.

Fig. 2A shows a cross-sectional view of the device of Fig. 2 taken along the line 2A-2A.

Fig. 3 illustrates a similar schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of another form of the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a preferred form of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. l, thereis shown an ultra high frequency energy conductor II, illustrated as being of the circular wave guide type. Energy is supplied to the wave guide II from a suitable source connected at its left, while a suitable load or utilization device is to be understood as being connected to the right end of conductor II.

For the purpose of measuring the power flow from the source toward the load, and independent of any power reflected by the load, a second or auxiliary wave guide I3 is positioned along and adjacent to wave guide II. Guide I3 preferably has the same propagation constant as guide II. The guide I3 is terminated at its left end by a suitable terminating impedance which may comprise an insulating disc I2 with a resistive coating I4 producing a desired impedance, so as to prevent reflection of energy incident upon this end of the guide I3. At the other endoi' this guide I3 is located a suitable detector, or rectier, indicated schematically as the crystal detector I6, coupled to guide I3 by loop I5.

The guide I3 is excited by a pair of probes or antennae I'I, I8, extending through and suitably insulatingly supported in openings I9, 20 in the adjoining walls of wave guides II and I3. Preferably probes I'I, I8 are spaced substantially onequarter wavelength apart within guide II, at the operating frequency. so as to be excited in substantially 90 phase relation.

Energy flowing from left to right in guide II will excite coupling antennae I'I, I9 in 90 phase relation. Antennae I 1 and I8 then tend to set up waves travelling in both directions in guide I3. cited by antenna II is I8|l out of phase with respect to that excited by antenna I8, so that these waves cancel and no resultant leftward wave is produced in guide I3. The rightward waves excited by antennae I1 and I8 reinforce, and energy travels down guide I3 to loop I5. The right end of guide I3 may be terminated in an energy sink or load, or may radiate its energy into space, preferably without reiiection, so that no standing waves are produced therein.

Energy flowing from right to left in guide II will similarly excite only a leftward wave in guide I3. This wave is terminated by impedance I2, I4 and has no elect on detector I6. Accordingly, guide I3 will be energized only by high frequency energy moving from left to right in the wave guide I I and will not respond in any manner to energy travelling in the other direction in wave guide II.

Detector I6 is connected to a suitable meter or indicator 2|, whose deflection thereby indicates the amplitude of the incident or rightward {iowing power in wave guide II. If detector I6 is of the square law type, indicator 2| may be calibrated directly in power. If detector I6 is of the linear type, indicator 2| may be calibrated directly in voltage or electric field intensity within the guide II. For other types of detector, indicator 2| may be suitably calibrated to give desired indications.

If the energy flowing in guide I I is modulated, indicator 2| need not be a D.C. meter, but may be any indicator adapted to indicate the amplitude of the modulated signal, which is a measure of the power flow;

It will be understood that a similar type of apparatus may be utilized to measure the reflected power merely by interchanging the terminating impedance I 4 and the detector I6. This is also shown in Fig. 1, the corresponding parts being given identical reference characters to those described above, but now primed.

Also, if desired, both the incident power and the reflected power may be indicated simultaneously. In such a case a single indicator may replace the separate indicators, 2| and 2|', and if this indicator is of the ratio meter type, as illustrated at 4I in Fig. 1, adapted to indicate the ratio of its input voltages, the ratio of incident to reflected power in the system, which is a direct function of the standing wave ratio, can be indicated directly, thus rendering the system very useful for monitoring purposes. Also, a single indicator l2 adapted to indicate the difference between the detector outputs may be used, so that the power actually dissipated in the load may be indicated.

Fig. 2 illustrates a modication of the system of Fig. l, in which the main energy conductor is shown in the form of a rectangular wave guide II. An auxiliary rectangular wave guide I3 preferably having the same propagation constant as guide II' and extending along the guide II", is utilized here. Wave guide I3" is suitably terminated at one end, such as the -left end, by a terminating impedance 23 which may be formed as a gently tapering wedge of semi-conducting material adapted to dissipate the energy travel- However, the leftward wave in guide I3 exling from right to left in the wave guide I3".

If the termination 23 is made fairly long compared to one Wavelength, substantially no reection of this leftward travelling energy will be produced within the wave guide I3".

Wave guide I3" is excited from guide II"v by a pair of openings 24. 25 spaced one-quarterwavelength along the guide I I'. In this manner, in response to energy travelling from left to right within the main guide II', energy will be excited within auxiliary wave guide I3" travelling only from left to right. Energy travelling from right to left within the main guide I I' will be ineffective to produce any rightward-travelling energy in the auxiliary wave guide I3", since it will produce substantial cancellation at opening 25, and no reflections are produced by impedance 23, similarly to Fig. l.

This rightward-travelling energy in wave guide I3 is rectified by the detector I6 connected to the indicator 2| by a transmission line section Detector I6 may be located within auxiliary guide I3, as shown schematically in the gure. In this way indicator 2| will again indicate the rightward power ow in wave guide II'.

By interchanging the positions of the terminating impedance 23 and the detector I6, the device may be made responsive solely to the reiiected power, as in the prior modification. Also, by use of the ratio meter, as described above, the standing wave ratio or power transmission efflciency or ratio of incident to reflected power may be indicated directly or monitored. By use of a difference meter, the actual power delivered to the load may be indicated.

It will be understood that antennae similar to II, I8 may be used in Fig. 2, or the single openings 24, 25 of Fig. 2 may be used in Fig. 1. If desired, coupling loops similar to I5 may be used in place of either holes 24, 25 or antennae I'I, IB.

The devices of Figs. 1 and 2, while constituting improvements over that of the above-mentioned prior application, in being adapted for use with Wave guides and hence with higher frequencies, are still sensitive to frequency variations within guide I or I I'. In order to avoid such frequency sensitivity, a plurality of such couplings extending over a distance long in comparison with a wavelength may be used. A plurality of such coupling antennae 28 is shown in Fig. 3.

By using a plurality of such couplings suitably spaced apart and extending for a distance of several wavelengths within guides II and 22, the device is made to improve its directional sensitivity, that is, to respond only to high frequency energy travelling in a predetermined direction in the wave guide I I', and is also made relatively insensitive to changes in the operating frequency. In this way, the critical dimensions necessary for the spacing of antennae II, I8 of Fig. 1 or openings 24, 25 of Fig. 2 are no longer present in the device of Fig. 3. Preferably the antennae of Fig. 3, or their equivalent couplings, are spaced closer than one-half wavelength within guide II. Any suitablel number may be used, the larger numbers being preferred.

Fig. 4 illustrates a practical embodiment of the present invention in which, in place of the plurality of antennas 28, a single elongated opening 32 between the wave guides II3 and III' is provided. Opening 32 is preferably several wavelengths long within guides III to provide good frequency insensitivity and directional sensitivity and is fairly narrow in width, in order not to unduly distort the electromagnetic fields within the respective wave guides.

It will be understood that a similar long slot may be used between two concentric transmission lines, to indicate power flow in one of them in the same manner as in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 also illustrates a filter for preventing leakage of high frequency energy from the crystal detector and the connection to the indicator, which may be utilized in any of the preceding modifications also. Thus, in Fig. 4 the inner conductor 26 of the coaxial line 26, 21 is connected directly to the crystal i6, at one end, and to a low pass filter at the other end. For this purpose the conductor 26 is connected to an enlarged section 33 which is made substantially one-quarter wavelength long and is succeeded by a relatively small diameter inner conductor section 36 also of one-quarter wavelength. This in turn is followed by a quarter-wave section 31 of relatively large diameter, all of these sections being insulated from the outer conductor 21. This succession of alternating large and small diameter sections of inner conductor may be extended as far as necessary, and provides a succession of alternately small and large impedance quarter-wave transmission line sections, which, as is well known, serve as an impedance transformer to provide a greatly decreased impedance to high frequencies at the gap between section 33 and conductor 21. Indicator 2l is then connected between the outer conductor 21 and the last inner conductor section 31. Thus the low frequency or direct current energization of indicator 2| is unimpeded, while substantially no high frequency leakage occurs.

In this manner we have provided an extremely simple and relatively frequency insensitive power measuring and indicating device which is responsive solely to power flow in a predetermined direction, and which may thereby indicate directly and monitor the power fiow or standing wave ratio in an ultra high frequency energy conductor, for example, a wave guide, without requiring adjustment of any kind.

The structures of Figs. 3 and 4 are disclosed and claimed in our divisional application Serial No. 777,802 filed October 3, 1947, for High Frequency Measuring Apparatus.

It will be understood that where distances in wavelengths are given, the distances are measured within the guide, where generally the wavelength I or a given frequency is longer than in free space due to the different velocities of propagation in the guide and in free space.

Since many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense,

What is claimed is:

l. High frequency apparatus comprising a first uniconductor wave guide adapted to be coupled to a source at one end and to a load at the other end, a second uniconductor Wave guide extending along a portion of said first guide, a plurality of pin antennae couplings electromagnetically coupling said two guides together at points mutually spaced apart a distance substantially equal to a quarter-wavelength in said first guide at a frequency in the operating range of said apparatus, said pin antennae couplings all serving to transfer energy to said second wave guide in the same phase sense, and means terminating said second wave guide in substantially refiectionless manner at one end thereof, whereby the output derived from other end of said second wave guide is responsive to power flowing in said first wave guide only in one direction.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said two wave guides have equal propagation constants.

3. Apparatus for indicating standing wave ratio, comprising a high frequency energy conductor, a pair of uniconductor hollow wave guides coupled to said conductor at opposite sides thereof, said wave guides having terminating impedances at their dissimilar ends so as to be respectively responsive only to waves traveling along said conductor in opposite directions, detectors respectively coupled to each of said wave guides adjacent the ends thereof away from said terminating impedances, and a ratio meter connected to said detectors to indicate the ratio of the incident and reflected power in said conductor.

WILLIAM W. HANSEN. THEODORE MORENO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,526,337 Hartley Feb. 17,1925 1,590,420 Chubb June 29, 1926 1,602,882 Chubb Oct. 12, 1926 1,636,527 Middlemiss July 19, 1927 1,822,996 Marick Sept. 15, 1931 1,827,333 Richardson Oct. 13,1931v 2,140,364 Lee Dec. 13, 1938 2,151,118 King et al Mar. 21, 1939 2,153,728 Southworth Apr. 11, 1939 2,305,952 Cravath Dec. 22, 1942 2,314,764 Brown Mar. 23, 1943 2,323,076 Paul June 29, 1943 2,323,128 Hane June 29, 1943 2,329,813 Amsler Sept. 21, 1943 2,365,218 Roger Dec. 19, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 545,936 Great Britainea-" June 18, 1942 

